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Scott Dixon took a a big step forward on Saturday as he beat out IndyCar points leader Will Power for the pole for Sunday's race in Detroit. Photo by LAT PHOTOGRAPHIC

Dixon overpowers IndyCar points leader for Detroit pole

June 1, 2012

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If the race for the Izod IndyCar Series championship goes through points leader Will Power, Scott Dixon figures he needs to beat him as much as he can in the season's final 11 races.

Dixon got his start on that on Saturday by edging Power for the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix pole at Belle Isle. The two traded the top spot several times in the Firestone Fast Six qualifying session before Dixon emerged with the top spot.

With Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti mostly struggling this season, Power identified Dixon as his primary contender for the title. To that end, Power vowed to “take him out in the first corner if I can.”

Dixon said that was fine.

“Whatever works,” he said.

Both were joking, we think.

Dixon earned the 18th pole of his IndyCar career, tying him with Rex Mays and Bobby Rahal. This is his first pole of the season. Sunday's race is at 3:45 p.m. on ABC.

The island's 14-turn, 2.07-mile street circle is as demanding as IndyCar drivers experience, and passing opportunities will be tough to come by, especially with a competitive field. The top six cars in qualifying are fielded by six different teams, and there were three Hondas and three Chevrolets. There also were six different nationalities among the drivers.

Alex Tagliani qualified third in his first street-circuit event since escaping the Lotus for a Honda. Simon Pagenaud, E.J. Viso and Ryan Hunter-Reay rounded out the Fast Six.

Ryan Briscoe will start seventh, remarkable given the day he had. He spun in the morning practice and was later clipped by Hunter-Reay on pit road, an incident which led to Hunter-Reay being penalized for pulling out of his pit box promptly in the fast lane. In qualifying, Briscoe brushed the wall, damaging his rear tire.

There were no other significant incidents.

Franchitti will start 14th; he has been fighting an illness for the past four days. Graham Rahal (17th) and Simona De Silvestro (25th) were docked 10 starting positions after engine changes in the 500.

Starting Lineup

1. Scott Dixon, Ganassi Racing, 1 minute, 10.316

2. Will Power, Team Penske, 1:10.321

3. Alex Tagliani, Bryan Herta Autosport, 1:10.668

4. Simon Pagenaud, Schmidt Hamilton Racing, 1:10.843

5. E.J. Viso, KV Racing Technology, 1:11.085

6. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport, 1:11.456

7. Ryan Briscoe, Team Penske, 1:10.996

8. Helio Castroneves, Team Penske, 1:11.008

9. Sébastien Bourdais, Dragon Racing, 1:11.162

10. Justin Wilson, Dale Coyne Racing, 1:11.338

11. Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, 1:11.812

12. Josef Newgarden, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing, 1:12.107

13. James Hinchcliffe, Andretti Autosport, 1:11.652

14. Dario Franchitti, Ganassi Racing, 1:12.328

15. Mike Conway, A.J. Foyt Racing, 1:11.652

16. Oriol Servia, Panther DRR, 1:12.575

17. Graham Rahal, Ganassi Racing, 1:10.9434, 1:10.943

18. Tony Kanaan, KV Racing Technology, 1:11.808

19. J.R. Hildebrand, Panther Racing, 1:12.584

20. Rubens Barrichello, KV Racing Technology, 1:12.405

21. Charlie Kimball, Ganassi Racing, 1:12.584

22. Ed Carpenter, Ed Carpenter Racing, 1:14.882

23. Marco Andretti, Andretti Autosport, 1:12.653

24. James Jakes, Dale Coyne Racing, 1:12.847

25. Simona De Silvestro, HVM Racing, 1:12.601

Note: Rahal and De Silvestro issued 10-position penalties for unapproved engine changes at the Indianapolis 500.